First Game-Winning Shot in 5 Years

[awfuldan]

Someone can correct me if I'm wrong on this but I believe that was our first game-winning shot since Jalen Adams @ Temple back in 2017.

Unbelievable play from Cole - such a difficult shot with the off hand going into great defense. The fact that he made both of the defensive plays before and after makes it that much more special. This play will be etched into UConn history and I'm so happy for Cole that he got to have that moment.

 

[Uconn77Duke74]

This game could be historic if it catapults this team into a Big E tourney final or a deep run in Ncaa. Good to see a new generation of fans pumped up enough to charge the floor. Ever since we paid Ollie his $$ the Mojo is back.

 

[Huskybass]

Someone can correct me if I'm wrong on this but I believe that was our first game-winning shot since Jalen Adams @ Temple back in 2017.

Unbelievable play from Cole - such a difficult shot with the off hand going into great defense. The fact that he made both of the defensive plays before and after makes it that much more special. This play will be etched into UConn history and I'm so happy for Cole that he got to have that moment.

Some will disagree with me, but Cole is really playing like the veteran leader that this team needs and is joining some special players as a bona fide star. He has so many great qualities. D's up great despite his size, takes a crazy number of charges, is very secure with the ball, scores inside and outside and distributes just enough. Plus with well over 2200 points he is certainly enough of a scorer to be a great crunch time option.

A word that fits his game is complete. That's a very dangerous quality in a point guard.

 

[awfuldan]

Some will disagree with me, but Cole is really playing like the veteran leader that this team needs and is joining some special players as a bona fide star. He has so many great qualities. D's up great despite his size, takes a crazy number of charges, is very secure with the ball, scores inside and outside and distributes just enough. Plus with well over 2200 points he is certainly enough of a scorer to be a great crunch time option.

A word that fits his game is complete. That's a very dangerous quality in a point guard.

For sure. He has made difficult shots his entire career here, but it feels like he has become much more of an efficient shot-maker recently. He's up to 46% on two-pointers this season (38% last year), and that includes a lot of long mid-range looks and some incredibly difficult end-of-shot-clock creations.

The defense is awesome to watch as well.

 

[8893]

Some will disagree with me, but Cole is really playing like the veteran leader that this team needs and is joining some special players as a bona fide star. He has so many great qualities. D's up great despite his size, takes a crazy number of charges, is very secure with the ball, scores inside and outside and distributes just enough. Plus with well over 2200 points he is certainly enough of a scorer to be a great crunch time option.

A word that fits his game is complete. That's a very dangerous quality in a point guard.

He is also remarkably composed. I was impressed by his demeanor in the presser last night, especially his "the season is not over" attitude. He is a humble, proud grinder like Taliek was; and despite being undersized, he's a better scorer.

 

[BugsyCT]

This particular team had to get over the hump against Nova. They had to prove to themselves they could beat them and could make the big plays in a game-deciding situation. They did just that last night. Excellent win for these kids.

 

[Nick2009]

This particular team had to get over the hump against Nova. They had to prove to themselves they could beat them and could make the big plays in a game-deciding situation. They did just that last night. Excellent win for these kids.

Reminds me slightly of finally beating Pitt in the BET back in 2011.

 

[Dove]

He started the game pretty rough. Could not penetrate to save his life. Gillespie was abusing him. Then Hurley pulled him and suddenly Gaffney was doing well on Gillespie, and scoring a bit.

After that, Cole was a killer.

 

[husky429]

He is also remarkably composed. I was impressed by his demeanor in the presser last night, especially his "the season is not over" attitude. He is a humble, proud grinder like Taliek was; and despite being undersized, he's a better scorer.

He's also a really smart kid from what I've been told. Pretty sure he has the best grades on the team.

 

[NEforceUConn]

Not as epic as Shabazz, but close.

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

Some will disagree with me, but Cole is really playing like the veteran leader that this team needs and is joining some special players as a bona fide star. He has so many great qualities. D's up great despite his size, takes a crazy number of charges, is very secure with the ball, scores inside and outside and distributes just enough. Plus with well over 2200 points he is certainly enough of a scorer to be a great crunch time option.

A word that fits his game is complete. That's a very dangerous quality in a point guard.

A couple months (?) ago, after the team and he had fallen short, I txted my sister and later posted here, "He can do anything. Just don't force him to do everything." I think it still fits, so we need the team (and him) to have additional options at the ready at various times. It's happening.

The 5:07 injury in the BET Creighton game was the first look at this, even if the drive into the lane felt then like a self-inflicted would. SOME of his shots still come from neglecting better options, but there has been great improvement.

When multiple contributions are in the mix, everybody plays better. Go Huskies!

 

[F101Voodoo]

He is also remarkably composed. I was impressed by his demeanor in the presser last night, especially his "the season is not over" attitude. He is a humble, proud grinder like Taliek was; and despite being undersized, he's a better scorer.

I have been saying all this season that Cole is the “adult” of the team, the anchor, the mature one. This team needed that.

 

[gsmooth]

A couple months (?) ago, after the team and he had fallen short, I txted my sister and later posted here, "He can do anything. Just don't force him to do everything." I think it still fits, so we need the team (and him) to have additional options at the ready at various times. It's happening.

The 5:07 injury in the BET Creighton game was the first look at this, even if the drive into the lane felt then like a self-inflicted would. SOME of his shots still come from neglecting better options, but there has been great improvement.

When multiple contributions are in the mix, everybody plays better. Go Huskies!

this is an important point. Not trying to rip Gaff in any way, but he hasn't developed at PG like we would have liked and Cole is at the risk of burning out. I feel like he will need to be on a IV drip.

2 ways to work around this are:

1) have AJax be the PG and bring the ball up more against pressure and have Cole off the ball. Hurley has already done this some and will continue to need to do this.

2) AJax remain the PG when Gaff comes in and have Gaff play off the ball. I actually think Gaff is better off the ball than being a PG.

So basically it boils down to AJax playing more point. But the point, as many posters here have said, AJax and Cole can't be on the bench at the same time for too long as that spells disaster (i.e. when Xavier made their comeback at Gampel).

 

[MJKI]

Everything about Cole just screams cerebral player. He doesn't get frustrated when he's not getting 10 shot attempts in a half, he just lets the game come to him. He is probably my favorite non Kemba/Bazz point guard since Marcus Williams. Obviously not anywhere near the distributor that Marcus was but they both let the game come to them, and know when to attack. Whether he comes back for another year or not, what he's done to help the young guys mature and learn the game will pay dividends for many years down the line